Tried this myself. Very intense. Takes alot to get me sore and I woke up the next morning sore out of mind. I tried it for chest workout. I did flat bench many reps as possible for 20 secs, rest 10 secs, dumbells flys as many reps as possible for 20 secs, 10 sec rest, then as many pushups as possible for 20 secs then 10 sec rest. Then repeat the routine 7 times.

It's not a new strategy and is a bastardized version of Tabata. Tabata was meant for sprints mainly and it's a conditioning tool, not for any sort of strength and/or mass. Notice how awful their form got towards the end as well. That's begging for an injury.

Tabata is definitely not a new concept, people have been doing it for years. Here is what I know on it.

- Very short rest intervals for GH release and subsequent fat loss.
- It is crucial that you choose an exercise which suits this purpose, here are some things to think about;
1) Muscle fatigue and technique. If you do that particular exercise to the point of throwing up (quite a strong possibility) what will your technique look like at the end. Would a Back Extension be a favourable choice for the posterior chain over the Deadlift?)
2) Muscle failure. If you did BB Hack Squats would your grip fail too prematurely to complete the workout in a way which would tax the rest of your body effectively?
3) Equipment. You cannot choose something where a long set up is needed. Having to change set up delays the rest period, especially when tired. An example would be having a bar on your shoulders and take multiple steps out of the rack to do Barbell Lunges.
4) Something requiring high balance/co-ordination is out. For the same reason as point 1. Performing a Barbell Snatch would result in horrible form in the same way anything requiring balance would be a waste. As fatigue builds your proprioception will become very poor and you will spend too much time correcting yourself rather than doing the exercise.

I hope this is helpful. If you do it properly it will be one of the hardest workouts you have ever done

yeaa true u must be very careful with your form to avoid injury and not over due it. But I have been doing this for a month now and I just went back to my regular routine to switch things up and I have noticed a big increase of strenth and some lean muscle gains. But everybody is different and will respond differently to certain workouts.

yeaa true u must be very careful with your form to avoid injury and not over due it. But I have been doing this for a month now and I just went back to my regular routine to switch things up and I have noticed a big increase of strenth and some lean muscle gains. But everybody is different and will respond differently to certain workouts.

for example before i started the tabata program i was repping bench 250 with 2 min break in between, during tabata i was not repping as much due to the 10 sec breaks, the high reps, and i used dumbells, I just changed up my routine this past week back to my 2 min break between each set and barbell bench press and noticed that im recovering very easily between breaks per set and not feeling the burn, I am also putting up alot more weight then I ever did. So I would say that the tabata helped with muscle fatigue and just made me over all stronger for im putting up alot more weight then i did before.

for example before i started the tabata program i was repping bench 250 with 2 min break in between, during tabata i was not repping as much due to the 10 sec breaks, the high reps, and i used dumbells, I just changed up my routine this past week back to my 2 min break between each set and barbell bench press and noticed that im recovering very easily between breaks per set and not feeling the burn, I am also putting up alot more weight then I ever did. So I would say that the tabata helped with muscle fatigue and just made me over all stronger for im putting up alot more weight then i did before.

That's indicative of increased CV performance, but not strength per se. Decreased time between sets, yes, but not a stronger muscle in terms of poundage.

They were using too much weight (and not a great move choice) to really take advantage of Tabata. I do similar stuff with push-ups, pull-ups, clean & press, bear crawls, etc. Set them up in a circuit and go all out to a certain time or rep range, then move on. You shouldn't be hitting failure until the end of workout if you're concerned about your cardio. It's just a slight modification of HIIT. There are lots of variations that would work equally well.

It's not a new strategy and is a bastardized version of Tabata. Tabata was meant for sprints mainly and it's a conditioning tool, not for any sort of strength and/or mass. Notice how awful their form got towards the end as well. That's begging for an injury.

Yeah, this new way of working out seems like something a high schooler would have thought up. No offense to the original poster!

I could think of many workout routines that would result in a lot of soreness the next morning but just because you wake up sore doesn't mean you've had a great workout or that you're going to gain mass or strength. It's extremely easy to get sore if that's all you're looking for.

My advice would be to go with what works. There have been people getting in amazing shape or becoming very strong with old tried and true training techniques that are 40-50+ years old. And when people find new techniques that work, most of the time it's not even a new technique, it's an old one that they've just never heard of before.

Just remember that there is a difference in sheer effort and effective effort. Approach your training and dieting with good strategy rather than an all-out approach for "extreme fast gains," or (insert cliche fitness magazine headline).

I used to watch a show called Dragonball Z when I was younger and it almost seems that a lot of people approach training as if they were living in that universe. If anyone has ever watched that show, youll know what I'm talking about! If you've never watched the show, disregard this paragraph. lol

It's not a new strategy and is a bastardized version of Tabata. Tabata was meant for sprints mainly and it's a conditioning tool, not for any sort of strength and/or mass. Notice how awful their form got towards the end as well. That's begging for an injury.